Legal quagmire in South AfricaIt seems the Short note on the company has gone out. I found a copy of it here:
https://hallgartenco.com/file.php?path=Mining&filename=Galane_Feb2016.pdf
Its pretty shocking that in all the press releases that Galane put out on the deal there was no mention of the legal issues. This is what the note said:
"This dispute relates to aspects of the mining operation that are NOT on the concessions of the company but on a neighbouring farm. These include the 22 Level adit, a tailings dam and explosives depot. In terms of the servitude agreement, the prior owner of the mine (before Galaxy) paid a monthly option fee to the land owner, Upper Moodies Estates CC (UME).
The last payment was made in October 2012 and the agreement expired in December 2012. An agreement for sale of the land was drafted but has not been signed and finalised. A legal dispute, including threat of eviction in early 2014, has since been entered between Galaxy and the land-owner regarding outstanding option fee payments and access to the property including the servitudes and explosive depot located on that portion.
To make matters worse, UME, as owners of the Ptn 12 Oorschot 692 JT, has government approval for plans to construct a Concession Creek Dam and subsequently declare the land a nature reserve. Should UME decide to implement such, all mining operations within the area boundary will have to be ceased indefinitely".
Then there is non-compliance with BEE requirements, which means more dilution:
"The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) scheme in South Africa is a source of frequent bogglement and annoyance to Canadian mining observers. It is worth noting that currently Galaxy does not comply with its BEE requirement as per the government regulations, whereby a mining company should hold an initial 26% BEE. Such will have to be implemented in order to progress operations".